Dress-skirt



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

' M. G. GELDOWSKY.

DRESS SKIRT.

No. 529,828. Patented Nov. 27, 1894;

m: roams PETERS cu. PHOTO-UTNQ. wAsHmq'ruN. n. c.

2 SheetsSheet 2.

(No Model.)

.- M. G. GELDOWSKY.

DRESS SKIRT.

I No. 529,828. Patented Nov. 27, 1894..

Rear Eorv of flWflZa a 6122620505769 UNITED STATES MARTHA o. GELDOWSKY,

DRESS- or sr. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

SKIRT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 529,828, dated November27, 1894.

A man filed August 23, 1894.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARTHA C. GELDoW- SKY, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have inventedcertain new and usefullmprovements in Bicycle Costumes; and I do declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description -of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

This invention pertains to bicycle costumes, and has for its objectsamong others to provide a simple bicycle skirt which when havingdismounted from the bicycle will have when walking the appearance of aplain walking skirt and which, before mounting the wheel, may be sochanged as to fall upon eitherside to protect the limbs of the wearer bya modest drapery which is prettier and more convenient than bloomers ordivided skirts. The skirtis provided at the front and rear with avertical slit as well as at each side, and these slits are provided withsuitable fastenings, and further the front slits or slashes are providedwith elastic fastenings which are designed to be used in case the windshould blow beneath the front of the skirt and turn the front flap back.Before mounting, the edge of the front slit is connected by the elasticstrap to the edge of the back slit, and this will prevent the wind fromblowing back the front of the skirt. I preferably face the skirt withrubber or thinleather which makes it easy to keep clean and alsoprotects the material of theskirt from wear.

Besides the front, rear and side slits or slashes or openings at thebottom of the skirt, from the waist line to the knee on the frontbreadth are two darts so out that the side of the dart nearest thecenter of the skirt front is slanting. The other side of the dartnearest the sides of the front is straight. The back breadth has sevendarts one rather long, one in the center and three oneither side andgraduated in length. The center dart is cut slanting on both sides butthe shorter darts upon either side thereof are cut the same as the frontdarts, straight on one side and slanting on the other, the slants beingalways nearer the,

Serialll'o. 521,069. (NomodeL) I back. The placket is on either therightor left side as the wearer may desire. The skirt is a trifle widerin the back breadth than the front so as to throw the side slit a littlenearer the front, that in the movement of the foot the heel of the shoefrees itself from the edge of the skirt. This skirt being narrow andclosefitted with darts that follow the lines of the figure no othergarment is Worn with the exception of a pair of equestrian tights.Leather leggins buttoning from foot to just beneath the knee may also beworn with low cut bicycle shoes. It will thus be seen that my bicycleskirt is a drapery that does not hinder the free movementof'the limbs inriding and when off the wheel would oftentimes pass unnoticed from itsclose resemblance to the usual walking skirt of the day, the differencebeing in its extreme narrowness and peculiarity of fashion and cut atthe top and bottom of the skirt.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appearand the novel features thereof will be specifically defined by theappended clams.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings,which, with the letters of reference marked thereon, form a part ,ofthis specification, and in which Figure 1 represents a. view of myimproved skirt with one of the flaps thrown up and portions broken awayto better disclose other parts. Fig. 2 is a view of the front of theskirt before the darts are closed. Fig. 3 is a similar view of the backor rear portion of the skirt'beforethe darts are closed.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts throughout the severalviews.

The skirt may be made of any suitable or desired material and maybeprovided with a belt or attachment or not, as may be desired, the skirtbeing designed to be used either with or without a belt as best suitsthe figure of the person to be fitted for the skirt.

The skirt is provided at the bottom at the center of the back with avertical slit or slash a which may extend about one third the length ofthe skirt A, more or less, as may be desired, and at the center of thefront at the bottom with a similar slit "or slash a,

while at each side at the bottom is a slit or v slash a These slits orslashes may be hemmed or bound'with stout braid, binding, cording oreven with leather or kid, or otherwise finished, and at the upper end ofeach may be a rosette B or other fanciful or ornamental attachment, andas many more as may be desired may be provided throughout the length ofthe slit. These slits are provided with some sort of fastenings, as forinstance hooks and eyes 0 which maybe attached upon the inner or underface thereof in any suitable manner so that when the hooks and eyes areengaged the adjacent edges of the slits will be drawn close together, asillustrated in the back slit where the same is shown as thus closed.

In Figs. 2 and 3 I have shown the front and rear halves of the skirt asthey appear before the darts are sewed up. In Fig. 2 A is the front; a,its slit at the bottom, and A the darts which extend from the waist lineto a point about at the knee, the said darts being so cut that the sidethereof nearest the center is on a slant as seen at A while the othersides are straight and vertical as seen at A 13' is the back breadth. Ithas a central dart B in line with the slit a and extending nearlythereto, while upon each side of this central dart are three smallerdarts B which are graduated in length as seen in Fig. 3, the

shorter ones being the farthest from the center as shown.

The placket C may be at either side as may be desired. The lap C may besecured in place in any suitable manner. It is shown in Fig. 3 asattached to the back breadth. In Fig. 1 the front and rear darts areshown as closed.

The lowerportion of the skirt may be faced upon the inside with a facingD of rubber, thin leather, oil silk or some analogous material whichwill clean easily and which will serve to protect the material of whichthe skirt is composed from wearing by contact with the bicycle.

In use when the wearer is riding the wheel the fastenings of the edgesof the slits or slashes are disengaged so that the garment will fallupon either side and while allowing free movement of the limbs willprovide a modest drapery therefor, and after dismounting the wearercloses these slits and has a plain walking skirt.

In order to prevent the wind from blowing up the front flap of thegarment and exposing the limbs of the rider I provide the back and frontslashes or slits with the elastic straps E which may be provided withhooks and eyes, either or both, and these are to be used in case thewind should blow beneath the front of the skirt and tend to turn thefront flap of the skirt back. Before mounting the wheel all that it isnecessary to do is to join the edges of the front slash with those ofthe back slash by means of the elastic straps. This will prevent thewind from blowing back the front of the skirt and hold it close to therider. The straps are provided with eyes to be engaged by hooks upon theopposite portion of the skirt, as seen in Fig. 1; or with hooks toengage eyes upon the skirt as may be deemed best.

One of the prime advantages of my skirt lies in its peculiarity of cutand fashion, its scantiness in width and the manner in which it fallsequally upon either side of the wheel, which prevents its entanglementor catching in the wheel as the ordinary walking skirt is liable to do,and of course when thus caught the skirt becomes torn. The manyadvantages of a skirt constructed as above described will recommend itto all those who have occasion to use a costume for bicycle riding.

Modifications in the details may be resorted to without departing fromthe spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

The presence of, and the peculiar arrangement of the darts, at the topof the skirt is important. They not only shape the garment to theperson, but at the same time do away with all plaitings and gatheringsat the belt line. Furthermore, the skirt will not wrinkle up when seatedon the bicycle. Besides, the darts at the top give to the skirt as awhole a neatness of fit that permits of the skirt being made scant andthe side slits thrown toward the front whereby it falls equally uponboth sides of the wheel. Were it not for this particular arrangement andlocation of the darts at the top of the skirt the slitswould have to bemade much wider or the dress much fuller.

What is claimed as new is 1. A skirt adapted for both a bicycle costumeand a dress skirt, having its back breadth wider than the front to throwthe side slits nearer the front, said back breadth being provided withdarts graduated in length from the center in opposite directions and thefront breadth having darts with the sides nearest the center on a slant,said skirt having vertical slits at the front, rear, and sides andextending from the bottom edge upward, whereby it will fall equally uponeither side of a bicycle wheel, substantially as described.

2. A bicycle skirt provided withfront and rear slits extending from thebottom edge of the skirt upward, and straps attached to the inner faceof the skirt at the linesof division of the front and back slits andmeans for detachably securing these straps to the opposite face of thegarment, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

Witnesses:

LILLIAN BELLIs, J OHN P. MYER.

